NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• FARMINGTON – A tree-trimming dispute outside a local residence resulted in a Farmington man threatening to shoot a city worker, according to authorities.
William S. Balagna, 75, received a notice to appear in Fulton County Circuit Court in Lewistown following the incident around 9 a.m. Oct. 2 in the 500 block of E. Fulton St., according to a Farmington police report.
A 23-year-old city public-works employee was attempting to trim trees that were hanging over the sidewalk when Balagna told him to stop. According to the victim, the conversation culminated with Balagna threatening to get a gun.
Balagna said he did not threaten to shoot anybody. He was accused of disorderly conduct.
• DAHINDA – Following a single-vehicle wreck southeast of Dahinda, an Oak Run man was accused of drunken driving.
Dirk L. DeBoer, 65, was behind the wheel of a westbound GMC Yukon about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 11 in the 1900 block of U.S. Route 150 when he swerved to miss a deer and the vehicle rolled off the south side of the pavement, a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report stated.
An ambulance transported DeBoer to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. DeBoer was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
• ELMWOOD – An Elmwood man was accused of domestic battery.
Eric G. Jacobson, 33, was arrested at 12:30 a.m. Oct. 9 and transported to the Peoria County Jail. The incident happened about one hour earlier in the 300 block of W. Main St., according to a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
A woman called for help because a male was assaulting her girlfriend, the report stated. The victim was a 34-year-old Elmwood woman.
• FARMINGTON – A Yates City woman admitted punching her former boyfriend in the face during a dispute at a Farmington residence.
The incident happened shortly before 4:15 p.m. Oct. 3 in the 600 block of E. Fort St., according to a Farmington police report. The victim, a 23-year-old man from Fort Worth, Texas, had a bloody nose but declined medical treatment. He smelled of alcohol, as did the suspect, 20-year-old Violet J. Solomon.
A police officer transported Solomon to the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown. She was accused of domestic battery.
• DOUGLAS – A machine-shed fire at a farm south of Douglas resulted in about $30,000 in damage, according to authorities.
The blaze began about 11:30 a.m. Oct. 6 in the 1800 block of Bear School Rd., according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The 51-year-old property owner was working in the fields with two friends when they saw smoke emanating from the machine shed.
Elba-Salem firefighters arrived after the men used garden hoses to try to extinguish the flames. The property owner said an overheated welder in the machine shed might have caused the fire. No injuries were reported.
• PRINCEVILLE – A two-vehicle wreck east of Princeville resulted in no reported injuries.
James R. Tiller of Wyoming was driving an eastbound 2024 Ram Laramie pickup truck shortly after 3:30 p.m. Oct. 3 on Illinois routes 90 and 91 when at McDowell Road it rear-ended a 2013 Ford sport-utility vehicle, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Carly M. Todd of Peoria was the other driver. Tiller said glare obstructed his vision and he didn’t see Todd was turning left onto McDowell Road. The pickup truck sustained major front-end damage, but Tiller drove it away. The SUV, which had a male passenger, sustained major rear-end damage and was towed.
• FARMINGTON – A Norris man driving in Farmington with an expired license also was the subject of an active Fulton County warrant.
A Farmington police officer stopped Gary L. Melton, 56, who was driving a 2004 Ford pickup truck shortly after 10:30 p.m. Oct. 2 in the 100 block of E. Fort St. Melton paid $100 in bond and received a new date to appear in Fulton County Circuit Court in Lewistown. He also received a warning regarding the expired driver’s license.
• EAST GALESBURG – A combine a Dahinda-area man was operating on his farm near East Galesburg caught fire.
A Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded about 4:45 p.m. Oct. 2 to the 700 block of Blaze Rd., where he found the rear of the 2017 John Deere S670 combine engulfed in flames. The 39-year-old farmer said he was harvesting soybeans when he smelled smoke, a sheriff’s-office report stated.
• FARMINGTON – A two-vehicle accident in Farmington led to a local woman’s arrest.
Alexis M. Kirk, 21, was driving a 2010 Ford F-150 pickup truck that was stopped on East Fort Street when a Farmington police officer arrived at 7 p.m. Oct. 1. The pickup truck was parked in the eastbound lane in front of a 2019 GMC owned by Robert J. Batterton, 54, of Farmington.
Kirk was wanted in Tazewell County for an unspecified offense, according to a subsequent check. Kirk was accused of operating a vehicle without a valid license, operating an uninsured vehicle and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. She was transported to the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown.
Both vehicles were towed.
• FARMINGTON – Benjamin F. Lingenfelter, 39, of Farmington posted $1,030 in bond and fees about 9 a.m. Oct. 6 regarding an outstanding Fulton County warrant from a 2018 case for methamphetamine possession, according to the Farmington Police Department. Lingenfelter received a new date to appear in Fulton County Circuit Court in Lewistown.
• EDWARDS – Daniel C. Moody, 34, of Edwards was arrested shortly before 5 p.m. Oct. 17 and accused of aggravated domestic battery, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• HANNA CITY – Paul J. Disney, 36, of Hanna City was arrested at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 16 and accused of violating an order of protection, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• EDWARDS – At 2:30 a.m. Oct. 10, Jesse A. Herremann of Hanna City was driving a southbound 2025 Hyundai Palisade on Taylor Road south of Edwards when at Ashbury Court the vehicle struck a deer. Herremann was not injured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between Oct. 5-11: fraud, Yates City; suspicious vehicle, Dahinda; disturbance, Williamsfield; harassment, Yates City.
Marriage licenses
• Jenna Nicole Scotti and Joshua Thomas Watznauer, both of Yates City.
• Abby Elizabeth Steinkoenig of Dunlap and Wayde Jahn Miller of Edwards.
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